Hi! I'm Courtney, the owner of Merriment Events™ in Richmond, Virginia. The Merriment Blog is a place where I can share ideas that are inspiring me. I'd love to hear from you! Please get in touch by writing to courtney {at} merrimentevents {dot} com

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If only every party were this fun to plan! There’s nothing quite as wonderful as seeing a group of four year olds enjoying a ballet lesson and a special visit from the “real” Rapunzel, “visiting all the way from Disney World.” Special thanks to Amanda Robinson of Sweet Fix for the beautiful birthday cake. The design was inspired by Phrosné Ras’ first festival invitation at Minted. I ordered the invitations way back in July, and had to do an emergency party location switch after they’d been printed. I had twenty beautiful invitations on hand and nothing to do with them, until I saw the most adorable kraft paper gable boxes at heaven on earthIf It’s Paper. I used my trusty Martha Stewart large circle cutter to cut the number four design from the invitations for the lunch box decoration. We tied an iridescent aqua balloon to each gabled lunch box. I just love the way everything came together! Thanks to all of our dear family and friends who made Birdie’s birthday so very special.

Last week, Brittany and I went to the industry preview party at Amanda Robinson’s new storefront bakery in Richmond’s Manchester district. Sweet Fix is one of our very favorite sources for wedding cakes and small deserts. In addition to event orders, Amanda will now also be selling limited run, carry out desserts (think bombe glacée, creme brûlée, macarons, panna cotta, exquisite cupcakes — all of the good things!). Best wishes on your new adventure, Amanda! We won’t be strangers.

Two of my favorite things — Whistler’s Nocturne in Black and Gold and spun sugar cupcakes topped with champagne buttercream. Although I’m pretty sure the design of the latter wasn’t inspired by the former, the similar gesture of the sugar to the falling rocket in Whistler’s painting illustrates how event design inspiration can come from many places…even your favorite painting.

Fondant gives cakes a smooth appearance. Although bakers can generally get buttercream pretty smooth, buttercream will never be quite as smooth or as white as fondant. Fondant is also brilliant for another, and often more important reason in Virginia — it protects the integrity of the cake in heat. Fondant is an absolute must if you’re having an outdoor wedding in Virginia and will display your cake during the months of June-September.*

Most people are put off by fondant because they’re worried about the taste or how it’s made. Fondant is a rolled sugar paste that covers cakes after they have been assembled with filling and icing. It is often made from confectioner’s sugar and a binding mixture of gelatin and glucose. It’s completely edible, but it can also be pulled away from the cake when it’s served if you’d prefer.

*Any cake will have trouble standing up to a 90+ degree day, so keep that in mind when you’re planning your event. I’ve seen fondant covered cakes droop on 100 degree days. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding and heat is in the forecast, cut your cake earlier in the evening.

You might have seen Magpie’s cakes making their debut on some of your favorite wedding blogs. I couldn’t resist posting Maggie’s work here too. You might be able to guess from the look of her confections that Maggie was a ballet dancer. Her cakes seem to float…they’re full of gesture, aren’t they?